Being Dead / Sarah La Puerta

Being Dead’s records are mosaics, technicolor incantations, each song its own self-contained little universe. Something about their music suggests it’s a dispatch from both the future and the past – vocal harmonies that sound like they’re reverberating in a medieval church to surfy guitar lines, weirdo-punky cacophonies erupting into chaos.

For their sophomore release EELS (Sept 2024, Bayonet Records), they decamped to Los Angeles for two weeks to record with GRAMMY-winning producer John Congleton. EELS is darker than their debut critically-acclaimed release When Horses Would Run (July 2023, Bayonet), tapping more into the devilishness within, but it’s also a more raucous, rougher ride sonically.

There’s heartbreak, excitement, enchantment, dancing. It’s a fitting encapsulation of Being Dead, exuding a welcoming, playful energy even if something foreboding lurks just beyond the pale.

• “Across 16 tracks that move from asymmetrical egg punk, Devo-worship…timeless, near-psychedelic harmonies and various other oddball sensibilities that make them the best college radio rock band in recent history – Being Dead’s organized chaos is future-seeking and familiar all at once.” — Associated Press
• “[Being Dead] have irresistible charm and a Pavement—level knack for speaking out of both sides of the mouth.” — Pitchfork [“BEST NEW MUSIC”]
• “The balance between earnest storytelling and playful eccentricity is where EELS truly shines.” — Under The Radar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S650YFB45Ho